Come Away With Me
by Gardenia1786
Summary: What will happen when Jessie and Katie are faced with issues they may not know how to deal with?
1. Default Chapter

Fic: Come Away With Me (1/6)

Author: Gardenia1786 (Chloe)

Rating: PG

Feedback: insert shameless plea for feedback Please? Pretty please, with a cherry on top? Gardenia1786@yahoo.com

Summery: Just a little (well, I think it'll be little... short... whatever) fic to the song "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (even though I wish I did), and the song isn't mine either. It was written and sung by Norah Jones. I'm not talented enough to come up with something like that ;-)

_~_

_Come away with me in the night_

_Come away with me_

_And I will write you a song_

_~_

"I can't take it anymore!" Jessie said as she slammed her locker shut. "First my parents, and now this! That was the fourth rude comment I've received today, and it's only second period! FOURTH!"

"Jess, calm down. Lets go outside." Grace said, pulling her arm out the front door of the school and out to a tree, which she leaned against.

"I happen to know for a fact that the last girl was after Katie before you. I also happen to know that the rest of the student body is cool with it, or they really don't care. It is the 21st century after all. Chill out, relax a bit." Grace patted her on the back. 

"Just give it a couple of days, it'll all blow over." Jessie looked at her with tears in her eyes.

"But what about my parents? That's not going to just 'blow over'." A far away look came in her eyes. 

"Why can't they just be like Henry and Lily? They were both pretty cool about it. But..." She paused, focusing her gaze on something in the distance.

"But...?" Grace urged her to go on.

"But I'm not their child." Grace nodded solemnly.

"You should have seen the look on my mother's face when I told her about Katie and I. I've never seen so many emotions cross someone's face at once before." Jessie furrowed her brow, still focusing on an object in the distance, trying to suppress her tears. 

"Anger, hurt, pain... I could tell she wondered what she could have done differently. But what really hurt me...." She paused again, the tears threatening to spill over. 

"Was the look of rejection in her eyes. The anger and rejection... I don't know, it just tore me up inside." Jessie's voice cracked, and a single tear fell. She refocused her gaze on Grace. 

"It's... it's like she didn't love me anymore." The floodgates opened, and the tears began to fall down Jessie's face. Grace pulled her into a hug to comfort her.

"Shhh, it's ok... it'll all be ok. Really, it will." She just held Jessie, trying to comfort her as much as she could. All of a sudden she felt Jessie's body stiffen and she pulled away. All the color had drained  out of Jessie's face and her eyes were wide with fear. Grace became worried.

"What is it? What's wrong, Jess?"

"What... what if, what if they won't let me see Katie anymore?"

"Did I hear someone very beautiful mention my name?" Came a familiar and VERY welcome voice from behind Jessie, who immediately spun around and pulled Katie into a very tight hug.

"Wow, Billie, I missed you..." She started, but sensed immediately that something was wrong.

"Jess, are you alright?" She felt her girlfriend shake her head against her shoulder.

"What's wrong? What happened?" When Jessie didn't respond because of the tears, she turned to Grace, who gave her a full rundown of what was going on. She explained the run in Jessie had with her family the night before, and all of the rude comments that people had thrown her way. The color drained out of Katie's face as well as she rubbed Jessie's back. 

"Oh my..." was all she could think to say. She went into a bit of a daze, and Grace found this the most opportune moment to slip away. As soon as Grace walked away, Katie snapped out of it and returned her focus to the crying girl in her arms, who she loved so very much.

"Jess... I'm so sorry. So very sorry." She whispered into Jessie's ear. Jessie pulled back enough so she could look Katie in the eye.

"For what?" She asked, barely audible, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Katie adverted her eyes, nodding to the surrounding.

"This... all of this. Everything. Here, your parents... all of it. It's my fault... if it wasn't for me..." Jessie put three fingers on Katie's lips to silence her.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. You didn't know this was going to happen, especially..." Her voice cracked, "with my parents. No one knew." She looked down for a moment, then back up at Katie, smiling through the tears.

"But whatever happens, don't ever be sorry. Because you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I mean that." A tear fell from Katie's eye as she leaned down and covered Jessie's lips with her own.

"Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me. And you're the best thing that's happened to me too. I... I love you." Jessie stood there for a moment, stunned. When she recovered, she leaned up and kissed Katie.

"I love you too." Katie smiled, and Jessie just stared at her with a blissed out look, momentarily forgetting all of her problems (hey, her girlfriend just told her she loved her for the first time... you'd be a little blissed out too...). 

A frown crossed Katie's features as she remembered what they were discussing before.

"So what are we going to do?"

Jessie looked down at the ground. She had a plan, but she knew it wouldn't work... or would it? She snapped her attention back to Katie.

It was worth a try....

"Come away with me." She simply stated.

"What?"

"Come away with me. Tonight."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

TBC....


	2. Chapter 2

Fic: Come Away With Me (2/6)

Rating: PG

Feedback: insert shameless plea for feedback Please? Pretty please, with a cherry on top? Gardenia1786@yahoo.com

_~_

_Come away with me on a bus_

_Come away where they can't tempt us _

_With their lies_

_~_

Katie dropped her hands to her side and sat down underneath the old oak tree. She brought her knees up under her chin and hugged them to herself. Her gaze was directed downwards, towards the ground, avoiding the wondering eye of her girlfriend. She had a decision to make, she knew it... but she was going to avoid it as long as possible. To leave this place, to go away with Jessie... or to stay where they were and bare whatever would come.

Jessie chose to stand and crossed her arms across her chest,  while looking down at the girl sitting on the ground. Katie looked back up at her, seriousness written all over her face.

"Jess, wait a moment. I think you need to calm down a little bit. Don't you think you're over reacting a little bit?" Katie said, eying her girlfriend with concern.

"No Katie, I've thought it through. I want to leave. Leave here, leave this," she said, motioning to her surroundings. "leave everything. I want... no, I need to get away from it all." Katie bit her lip and looked again at the ground. She had never seen Jessie so upset. It hurt her to know that people had said mean things, and it made her furious how Jessie's parents had reacted. 

The decision had been made. Katie was powerless against it. Her girlfriend may be small, but she was very strong willed, that she knew. She knew better than try to break it. She figured it would be better if she just went with the flow.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked as she looked back up at Jessie. A smile crossed Jessie's previously sullen features.

"Je ne suis pas." She hit her head playfully. "Sorry, just got out of french." She joked, then growing half serious, "I don't know, let's just go. Get a bus ticket and get out of here. So we can get away from all of this... all of them. And their crude comments." Katie studied Jessie's features carefully. She was actually a little surprised to find that Jessie wasn't joking at all... in fact she was quite serious.

"You really want to do this?" Jessie nodded.

"Yes, I do." Katie thought for a moment.

"Where would we go? How long would we stay?" Jessie just shrugged.

"I don't know... I've always been partial to Colorado... all of the mountains and everything. As for how long... I don't really care. A week, a month, a year..." she paused for a moment, "forever.... it doesn't really matter." Katie frowned once again.

"But what about your family? Don't you think they'd miss you?" Jessie shook her head. 

"Jess, really. You just need to give them a little time to get over it... they will eventually, they just need time. Just give it a little time. As for here," She motioned to the school right behind her "they'll get over it." Katie grinned  "Or I'll make them get over it. Either way works for me... for both of us."

"Katie..." Jessie started, but Katie quickly cut her off.

"Look, baby, I know it's hard, but just give it a few days. I'll tell you what, if it isn't better in..." she paused, thinking of a reasonable amount of time, " two weeks..." 

Jessie cut her off "TWO WEEKS?" Katie raised her hands to calm her. She took hold of Jessie's hand that was hanging down, and pulled her into her lap, wrapping her arms around Jessie's waist. She moved the hair away from Jessie's ear and whispered into the fuming girl's ear.

"... two weeks. If it isn't better after that, I'll go away with you. Where ever you want." Katie felt Jessie's body soften, as Jessie turned to look at her, a gentle expression on her face. 

"You'll really do that? You'll really go away with me?" Katie stared straight into her eyes.

"Yes, my dear, I will." Jessie smiled and leaned in for a kiss. When they broke apart, she opened her eyes and smiled, then proceeded to lay her head onto Katie's shoulder.

"This, right here, is what feels so right." Jessie breathed. Katie nodded, agreeing with her. Dreading the fact that in another twenty minutes or so they were going to have to go and face the minions of their peers again, and she wished that she could protect Jessie, from everyone and everything. If she had it her way, not another verbal barb would ever be thrown her way. She just couldn't understand why someone would want to hurt someone as fragile and amazing as Jessie. The thought just blew her mind.

They sat in silence for a few moments, just enjoying the feel of their bodies so close together before Jessie broke the silence. She spoke in a soft voice, hating to ruin the moment, but she was so worried about it, she had to bring it up.

"Katie? What about my parents... my mom?" Katie just closed her eyes and inhaled Jessie's scent. Jessie's parents. Katie remembered when she told her parents... they really didn't care. Her dad sort of grunted, upset she had interrupted his favorite tv show, and she simply got an 'oh, that's nice dear.' from her mother. They really haven't talked about it since. It just was never that big of a deal. 

It just... was, and they didn't argue about it.

But to have it be this big of a deal... Katie didn't know what to do.

"I don't know... I just don't know." She reached over and took Jessie's hand, rubbing it and squeezing it... trying to assure the other girl that everything would be ok.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

Fic: Come Away With Me (3/6)

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: insert shameless plea for feedback Please? Pretty please, with a cherry on top? Gardenia1786@yahoo.com

~

_I want to walk with you_

_On a cloudy day_

_In fields where yellow grass grows knee-high_

_So won't you try to come_

_~_

_~The next day~_

Katie snuck up behind Jessie, who was staring intently at something in her locker, and wrapped her arms around Jessie's middle. Jessie stiffened, not quite sure who it was.

"Hey Billie! How's my beautiful girl today?" Katie whispered into the other girl's ear. Jessie relaxed and leaned back into her.

"Mmmm... much better now that you're here." She turned around to face Katie with a mischievous smile on her face.

"What?" Katie questioned. Jessie shook her head.

"Nothing.... I don't believe I've gotten my good morning kiss yet, now have I?" She asked, still grinning, putting her hands on her hips. Katie crossed her arms across her chest, pretending to think.

"No, I don't believe you have! How rude of me! Where are my manners?" Katie replied, causing Jessie to shrug. Katie leaned down and placed a quick kiss on Jessie's waiting lips. Or at least she thought it would be a quick kiss... until Jessie wrapped her arms around Katie's neck right before she was about to pull back, holding her down and keeping their lips connected. Not that she minded or anything. Not at all.

When she finally was able to pull back, she grinned.

"Well good morning to you too!" She then noticed that it had become rather quiet in the hallway. She turned around only to find that half of the student body was gawking at them. 'It's not that they were disgusted with us... more like... fascinated?' Katie thought. 'I mean, I guess it isn't quite every day they see two hot girls kissing in the hallways... not to be conceited or anything.' She grinned "Well, they better get used to it, cause they will now!" she muttered to herself.

"Hey! Is there something interesting you're all looking at?" She asked their little group of onlookers, rather impatiently. They all kind of looked at each other and then went back to what they were doing before. Katie turned back around to face her girlfriend, who was wearing a rather dejected look on her face. A look that Katie was determined to get rid of.

She put on one of her most charming smiles and looked Jessie right in the eyes. 

"So, after school. I was thinking maybe I could come over to your house and we could spend some..." she cleared her throat, "ehm... quality alone time together." Jessie laughed

"That sounds great..." her voice trailed off and her faced dropped. "Oh wait... today I have to go to my mother's house." She looked down at the ground. Katie lifted her chin to bring her gaze back up so she could look her in the face.

"I figured that. But she won't get home for a couple of hours, right?" Jessie nodded, her eyes beginning to sparkle again. 

"Besides, I wanted to talk to her anyways." Jessie raised her eyebrows. 

"Oh really? About what?" Katie just smiled.

"You'll see..." She said in a sing-song voice.

"So, is it all set? I'll take you to your mom's house after school and we can... ehm... 'hang out'?" She looked down at Jessie with big puppy dog eyes, and she made a pouty face, the one she knew Jessie could never resist. Not that Jessie needed any talking into about this... any alone time with Katie was always good. Jessie grinned up at her and kissed her.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then." Jessie nodded, and at the exact same time, the bell rang.

"See you later!!" Katie called behind her as she sprinted off to her next class.

"Yeah, later!" Jessie replied. 'Oh this is going to be an interesting afternoon.' She thought as she turned around and walked into the classroom. Throughout the entire class hour, Jessie mentally wrestled with the thought of Katie talking to her mother. But by the end of class, her confidence in Katie won out, and she knew if anyone would be able to win her mother over, it would be Katie.

~*~

"Umm... Katie? I can't find my keys..." Katie shook her head and laughed. 

"Only you, Jess, only you." She leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, taking her backpack and began to go through it. About three-quarters of the way down, she found them. 

"You mean these?" She asked, holding them up. Jessie laughed.

"Yeah, those would be it. What would I ever do without you?" She asked, kissing Katie for a moment.

"Not much..." That earned Katie a soft punch on her shoulder from Jessie as she climbed out of the car and began to make her way up the front sidewalk. Katie got out and followed her.

Once they were inside they dropped their bags on the floor and raced up the stairs to Jessie's room. Jessie went over and sat on the bed as Katie closed the door behind her. Jessie smiled and pat the bed next to her, motioning for Katie to come and sit down next to her. Katie didn't need to be told twice. She raced over and jumped on the bed, or more precisely, jumped on her giggling girlfriend.

"Mmm, this is nice." Katie said as she laid on top of Jessie, her full weight on her.

"Yeah...." Jessie said, closing her eyes as Katie leaned down and kissed her softly. She kissed her forehead, her nose, both of her eyes, her cheeks, her chin, and finally her lips, each individually, then covered Jessie's lips with her own.

~*~

About an hour later, they laid together, arms around the other just enjoying the peace and quiet, savoring every moment with each other.

"Katie?" Jessie asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmmm?" Katie replied, absentmindedly tracing circles on Jessie's back with her fingers.

"What is one of the most romantic things you can think of doing?" Katie looked over at Jessie and grinned wickedly. Jessie rolled her eyes.

"Besides that." Katie laughed.

"I know, I'm just teasing, you know that." She said as she winked.

"Yeah, ok. Now answer the question please."

"Hmmm...." Katie thought for a moment.

"I think it would be... walking with you on a cloudy day.... barefoot, in a field where golden grass grows knee-high. Just kind of hanging out, playing around, you know? Like in the Sound of Music, the part where Maria starts playing the guitar and they begin to sing Do-Re-Me. That's always kind of been one of my things." Katie looked right in Jessie's blue eyes. She swore they'd never been this blue before. Her mouth went dry when she saw the look of pure love radiating from them. She leaned over and kissed her.

"Katie, you know we can do that, we can do that now. We can just go, get away from here. We can just get up and leave this place right now, and never come back." A fire blazed in Jessie's eyes. Determination. 

"Jessie, I.... you know...." She was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening downstairs.

"Jessie?" They heard Karen call up, breaking their moment. 

"Who else is here?" Katie took a deep breath as they each examined the other, smoothing the other's hair down. Jessie looked scared... she was as white as a sheet. Katie leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. 

"Two weeks. Not before." Jessie could only nod.

"It'll all be alright." She said as she took Jessie's hand and squeezed it.

"Lets go." They stood up and walked out of the room, hand in hand, to go face Karen.


	4. Chapter 4

Fic: Come Away With Me (4/6)

Author: Gardenia1786 (Chloe)

Rating: PG

Feedback: insert shameless plea for feedback Please? Pretty please, with a cherry on top? away with me and we'll kiss

_On a mountaintop_

_Come away with me_

_And I'll never stop loving you_

Jessie and Katie walked down the stairs hand in hand. Katie swore the stairs had never been longer... they creaked ominously below her with every placement of their feet... Katie's stomach was in knots. She knew what she was going to tell Karen... or at least she had an over all idea. Ok, so she knew that she was going to profess her undying love for Jessie, but besides that, she wasn't quite sure.

They reached the bottom. Katie squeezed Jessie's hand to let the younger girl know everything would be ok. Jessie rounded the corner, pulling Katie with her.

"Hi mom." She said rather nervously. Karen was standing above their kitchen table sorting through the mail and some other papers, not having looked up at them yet.

"Hey baby, who else is here?" she pleasantly asked, with a smile on her face. When Jessie didn't answer, she looked up from what she was doing, her smile fading when she saw Katie.

"Oh, hello Katie." She said, her tone now cold and uninviting.

"Hi Mrs. Sammler." Katie replied nervously, awkwardly raising a hand to sort of wave, then deciding against it and placing it back by her side. They stood and looked at each other for a few moments, both Karen and Katie sizing the other up, wondering how much of a threat the other would be.

Jessie watched the exchange between them, the two most important women in her life. This is not what she wanted to see. She wanted so badly for them to get along, to even be friends. But not this. She couldn't put up with this, yet she had to. She had to stand there and watch, as if on the sidelines of what could be one of the most crucial points of her teenage life, and she was powerless to do anything.

"Mrs. Sammler, I wanted to talk to you about a few things." Katie said once she found her voice. She tried so hard not to let it shake, but it was hard to keep it under control. Karen continued to stand and stare at her, but she raised her eyebrow, as if to challenge Katie, for her to give it her best shot. But from the way she looked, Katie thought Karen wouldn't budge an inch. And she certainly wasn't going to make this easy for her.

"I umm..." she stuttered "I wanted to talk to you... about Jessie... and I." Karen sort of nodded, giving her permission to continue, while folding her arms across her chest. At that moment, Katie was shocked to see how much the two Sammler women looked alike. Their hair, their eyes, the way they stood... she saw where Jessie had gotten it all. She swallowed, then continued.

"As Jessie told you the other night, we are going out... dating... whatever you want to call it. We're a couple." As she said this, she lifted their joined hands to Karen's line of sight. She flinched a bit, but maintained her icy stare, and rigid posture. Katie paused for a moment, waiting to see if Karen would respond, but when it was made clear she wouldn't, Katie continued.

"Yes, so anyways, I just wanted you to know that... umm... I love your daughter." She smiled and looked over at Jessie, who was beaming up at her, and continued to speak to Karen while staring at Jessie.

"I love Jessie more than anything else in the world." Katie returned her attention to Karen and stared her straight in the eyes, to let her know that she was serious, very serious.

"And I promise to you, right here and now, that I will never_ EVER_ do anything to hurt her." she felt Jessie squeeze her hand. She stood there, waiting for Karen to say something... anything. But she didn't, and with each passing moment, Katie grew more and more frustrated. Why couldn't this woman be happy for them? Why did she have to make it hard and so complicated? They were two people in love. Why should it matter that she was a girl instead of a guy?

Katie shook her head and sighed.

"I just wanted you to know that." She said as she turned around and began to walk out of the room, Jessie following her, their hands still connected.

Karen watched the two girls leave, and likewise watched her moment to talk to them slip away. She sat down in the chair and put her head in her hands. She couldn't help but wonder what she had done wrong. Maybe if she and Rick had stayed together, maybe if she had been there more for Jessie, maybe... she shook her head. She couldn't dwell on the 'what if's' and 'maybe's'. No, that time was passed, and she was going to have to deal with it. She tilted her head. 'Maybe they'll grow out of it, maybe it's just a phase...' she dared to hope. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she knew it was false. Something in Katie's eyes... a fire of determination, one that she had seen in her daughter's eyes many times before. Katie really did love Jessie, and she could see that Jessie really did love Katie. But was that enough? She could learn to accept it, couldn't she?

"Arrrggg!" she said in frustration. Why couldn't she just accept Jessie for who she is, a beautiful girl who fell in love with her amazing and charming best friend.

She never had though of herself as homophobic, actually, she had always considered herself quite the opposite. She had always thought she had a fairly open mind.

So why could she be open towards other people, and not her own daughter?

Jessie and Katie made their way back up the stairs. When they got inside Jessie's room, Jessie closed the door behind her. Katie had her back turned to Jessie as she stood at the foot of the bed. Jessie walked up behind her and slipped her arms around the other girl's waist.

"That didn't go exactly as I had planed." Katie said as she shifted around so she could hug Jessie.

"I know. I wish I could say I didn't expect this, but in the back of my head, I figured this was what mom would do." Katie just shook her head.

"I better go." She said.

"Let me come with you."

"But Jess, you're mom will never let you come over, besides, it's late, and you need to get your sleep."

"I want to spend the night at your house." Katie looked down at her with a tired smile on her face.

"Jessie, not tonight please." Jess looked up at her with a serious expression.

"Just to sleep, I swear... I just can't stand to be here tonight." Katie looked deeply into her eyes, and saw that Jessie truly was serious, and just needed a night away. She slowly nodded.

"Get your things together." Jessie smiled and leaned up to kiss her for a brief moment before running around her room to gather the things she needed. In under five minutes, she had gathered everything that she would need for that night and the next morning, and stuffed it all into her backpack.

"Ok, lets go. Just walk down the stairs, and I'll sneak behind you. We'll have to move quickly to get past my mom without her seeing me." Katie nodded. They walked out of her room and down the stairs. Katie peeked around the corner, only to see Karen still sitting at the table, her head in her hands, not paying any attention to her surroundings. Katie almost regretted it for a moment, taking Jessie away without her knowing it, but in the end, decided that Jessie really did need a night away.

She turned around and motioned that it was ok for them to go, and casually walked by the hall and out the front door. As soon as Jessie was out, they bolted to the car. They climbed in, and Katie quickly pulled away from the house. Jessie began to laugh.

"Wooho! We made it!" She said, clapping her hands together. "We rock!" Katie laughed

"Was there ever any doubt?" Katie asked, smiling.

_Katie's room, later that night_

They laid in the bed together, facing each other, just looking... studying. Memorizing. Katie propped herself up and tilted her head a bit, then smiled.

"We never finished our conversation from earlier. You know what I always thought was romantic, but you never told me yours." Jessie smiled up at her.

"Mountains. I've always loved them, ever since I was a little girl. We took a trip there when I was 6, before the divorce, and everything was so wonderful and perfect. One night, daddy took me up the side of one of the mountains, to a point where it was high above everything else, and the two of us could look out over the entire city, and across the plain. The lights sparkled in the night and it was all just so beautiful. I've always wanted to go back. I think it would be perfect to go there with you, to kiss up there, looking down over the city." Katie leaned down and kissed her.

"That wouldn't be a hint, now would it?" Jessie smiled up at her devilishly.

"Why my dear, I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about." She said in her best imitation of a southern accent. That made Katie crack up.

"Of course you don't." She smiled and turned over and curled up to go to sleep.

"What, no good night kiss?" Jessie pouted. "You must not love me anymore!" Katie laughed and rolled over, planting a kiss firmly on Jessie's waiting lips.

"I could never stop loving you."

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Fic: Come Away With Me (5/6)

Author: Gardenia1786 (Chloe)

Rating: PG, maybe PG-13

Feedback: As always, yes please! summery and disclaimers, please read the previous parts.

A/N: Sorry about the long wait. School and life have been pretty rough these last few weeks. But I promise, the last part will be up very soon!

_And I want to wake up with the rain_

_Falling on a tin roof_

_While I'm safe there in your arms_

Jessie awoke the next morning to the sound of rain falling on the roof above her. She yawned and stretched, while looking over at her still sleeping girlfriend who was lying beside her. Or partially on top of her would be more precise. She twisted herself around and grinned goofily down at Katie, who was just beginning to wake up. Katie blinked a couple of times then matched Jessie's goofy grin. She leaned over and kissed her.

"Morning beautiful." Katie whispered in Jessie's ear, causing the other girl to giggle.

"I could definitely get used to waking up like this!" Jessie said, causing Katie to laugh. She leaned her head against Katie's and yawned.

"Yep, I could really get used to this." She simply stated. Katie wrapped her arms around Jessie and held the other girl tightly. Jessie nestled her head in the crook of Katie's neck. They laid there for a few moments in silence, before it was broken by Jessie.

"Last night..."

Grace frantically searched the halls for any sign of Jessie and Katie. She wasn't a happy camper to say the least.

Karen had called their house the night before and asked Rick if he had heard anything from Jessie. Once they figured out she was missing, Grace had gotten the third degree due to her and Jessie's recent camaraderie.

After about an hour of questioning, Grace was finally able to convince Rick and her mother that Jessie was probably at Katie's house and that she didn't know the number. It wasn't a complete lie... she didn't know Katie's home number... but she did in fact know Katie's cell. As soon as the interrogation was over, Grace had dived at the phone and called Katie's cell... but she got Katie's messaging service. She left a brief message saying they better be at school the next morning, and that they had a lot of explaining to do.

Grace paced around in front of Katie's locker. Jessie's wasn't far from their, so she figured she would be able to spot them if they headed anywhere in the vicinity of either of their lockers. She tapped her foot on the ground and sighed impatiently. 'They better get here soon...' she thought. She checked her watch. In 4 minutes they would be late for third period. She looked back up and scanned the halls, crossing her arms and leaning against the locker. She though she saw them in the distance, and strained her eyes.

'Yes, that's them alright.' Her glare was icy.

Jessie could feel Grace's glare from all the way up the hall. She held onto her girlfriend's arm tightly, enjoying the safe feeling she felt. Katie kept her close, not wanting to let her go. Jessie took a deep breath as they walked over to Grace, who was still leaning against Katie's locker.

"Well, glad to see you've finally showed up." Jessie couldn't handle any of Grace's taunts or torments, so she leveled her gaze.

"Grace, just leave us alone. You have no idea what last night was like." She closed her eyes, trying not to let her voice break.

"My mother rejected us." Grace looked over at her quizzically.

"What did she say?" Jessie shrugged and shook her head.

"Nothing, but like they say, silence can be worth a thousand words." Katie nodded and Grace just stared.

"I thought it was a picture that was worth a thousand words." Grace said, feeling bad now, trying to lighten the mood. Jessie scowled up at her.

"Not funny."

"Sorry." Grace looked at the two girls in front of her who were hopelessly in love. She felt bad for them, knowing what was happening with both Rick and Karen. She had to choose. She had to choose which side, she couldn't be in the middle. It was either her step-father and his ex wife, or her step-sister... who had become more like her own sister.

"What can I do to help?" She asked. Jessie looked up at her, surprised.

"You'll help me?" Grace gave a soft smile.

"Of course, what are sisters for?" Jessie smiled and hugged Grace.

"Thank you." She whispered into her ear.

Jessie tiptoed into her mother's house. Hurricane Karen was about to hit and Jessie knew it. She wondered how much worse it would be than when Eli lost his job, then didn't tell their mother for over three weeks. Jessie quietly shut the door behind her, and peered down the hallway. She didn't see anyone, so she assumed it was safe to move. All she had to do was get up the stairs...

"Jessica Elizabeth Sammler..." She heard a steady voice call from the kitchen. Busted. Jessie closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Time to face the music.

Jessie slowly made her way into the kitchen, and faced her mother who was sitting down at the table... waiting. Waiting for the confrontation. It was amazing how it had come down to this. They used to be so close. After everything with her mother in the hospital, Jessie was afraid to leave her side, afraid that Karen was going to get hurt again. Jessie was so young and vulnerable then. But things had changed. She had grown up and fallen in love.

And here in front of her sat that same mother, with a stone cold face on, staring up at her with cold, but questioning eyes.

"Where were you last night?" Karen asked, keeping her voice firm. Jessie shrugged. She didn't have anything to hide.

"I spent the night at Katie's." Karen was taken aback by Jessie's honesty, but in a way was thankful for it. It made that part a whole lot easier.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Karen cocked her head sideways, her voice on the edge this time. Jessie winced at the tone.

"I didn't think you'd understand." Jessie had to keep breathing, steady breaths. That would get her through.

Karen shook her head and muttered something. "What was that?" Jessie asked, feeling fear grip her heart as she looked her mother straight in the eye.

Then the words came, the words that caused everything in Jessie's once perfect world to come crashing down. They were magnified and repeated in Jessie's mind over and over again.

"I don't want you to see Katie again." Jessie was speechless for a moment, taking in the foreign words, trying to understand them before she pounded her fist on the table, shocking both Karen and herself at the show of force. She wasn't going to loose this fight laying down. She was going to fight this to the end.

"No." Jessie stated through clenched teeth. Karen looked up at her, surprised by the show of force that her daughter was displaying.

"You aren't going to see her again. End of discussion." Jessie shook her head.

"I don't believe you. I'm talking to dad." Jessie said as she went to pick up the portable phone. Karen shook her head.

"It won't help you. I've already talked to him. He agrees." Jessie's hand hovered over the phone, not sure whether her mother was bluffing or not. If she was, her father might be able to help her. If she wasn't... then things could get touchy, even more so than now. She closed her eyes and grimaced. The only thing left was reasoning.

"What can I do to get you to let me see Katie again?" She asked, coming back around to face her mother, who was still sitting in the exact same spot as when she had come in. Karen avoided Jessie's gaze.

"As of right now..." Karen paused "nothing." Jessie couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine!" She yelled and ran as fast as she could up the stairs.

Jessie relayed what happened just moments before to her girlfriend, and Katie was speechless... for once. It didn't really seem like they had an option as of what to do. If they stayed, than she wouldn't be able to see Jessie out of school ever again... or at least a very long time. She sighed into the phone, and Jessie saw her opportunity.

"We could get away, like we've been talking about." Katie was silent on the other end of the phone. She really wished it wouldn't have come to this. She didn't really want to leave, this was her home. Her family was here, her friends, everything that she had known for all of her life. But Jessie was becoming her life, and she couldn't... wouldn't loose her. She would follow her to the ends of the earth if she had to, and if her mother was going to put such a harsh restriction on them, then so be it. They would leave, they would go away. And maybe someday, somehow, they would be able to come back and live here, years from now. And Katie could live with that.

"Katie?" Jessie questioned over the phone due to Katie's sudden silence.

"Ok." Katie stated quietly.

"What?" Jessie asked, hoping she knew what Katie was referring to.

"Ok, we can go away. I'll go away with you." Jessie beamed.

"Whats the soonest we can go?" Jessie asked. Katie thought for a moment. A pang of sadness swept through her. School would be over in 3 weeks, and she would be a Senior then. She would only have one year left, and Jessie would only have two. School would be something they'd need if they wanted to get good jobs later.

Money. She hadn't thought about that one. It shouldn't be too big of a problem for awhile, her parents where very well off, and she had a sizable bank account, one that they could live off for almost a year.

But the last weeks of school... she'd just have to sacrifice. It would do murder to her GPA, but it was going to have to be something she would live with. She shook her head.

"Whenever we got plane tickets."

"Where to?" Katie laughed.

"Isn't it obvious? Colorado."

Jessie sat the phone back in it's cradle and set off to find Grace. She walked down the stairs and down the hall, stopping in front of her step-sister's room. She knocked on the door.

"What?" Came the reply from inside.

"Grace, can I come in for a second please?"

"Sure." Jessie opened the door and peered in the room, finding Grace sitting over at her desk, working on some last minute homework. Jessie closed the door behind her and sat down on Grace's bed.

"I have a favor to ask of you..." Jessie started, Grace looking up at her intently. Jessie quickly relayed their plan, including their flight information. Grace just watched on in fascination. She didn't think they'd go that far, to run away... but apparently they were. Jessie had finished a few moments before, and stared at Grace, waiting for her reaction. Grace nodded slowly.

"What do you want me to do?" Grace asked, and a look of relief came over Jessie.

"I need you to cover for us."

So will they go away? Or will they stay? Hmmm... guess you'll just have to wait until I post the conclusion! ;-) Meanwhile, why don't you drop me a line, tell me what you thought.

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

Fic: Come Away With Me (6/6)

Author: Gardenia1786 (Chloe)

Rating: PG, maybe PG-13

Feedback: As always, yes please! Summery and disclaimers, please read the previous parts.

_So all I ask is for you_

_To come away with me in the night_

_Come away with me._

Karen listened into the receiver as the phone rang and rang. 'Someone please pick up' she thought to herself.

It had been three days since her fateful encounter with Jessie in the kitchen. Three days since she'd talked to her, and Karen felt awful. She was angry to begin with, angry for awhile, then her pride took over, not wanting to admit that she might have been a bit hard on Jessie. But now... now she was just concerned. She didn't want to loose Jessie, and she was damn well close to it right now. She wanted to stop and make things right before too much time went by.

"Hello?" A voice answered on the other line. Grace. 'Hmm... this could be good.'

"Hello, Grace? It's Karen. Is Jessie there? I really need to talk to her."

Grace closed her eyes. She really didn't want to have to deal with this right now. She checked her watch. It was 8:00. Jessie and Katie's flight would be leaving at 9:00. She had to stall, or at least find out why Karen was calling.

"I don't think so. But I doubt she'd talk to you anyways." Grace was even surprised at what she said. Sure, she was normally blunt... but not quite _that_ blunt.

"I... uh..." Karen stuttered into the other end of the phone.

"Look, why do you need to talk to her anyways?" Once again, Grace was surprised. She was being protective of Jessie. Something she wasn't used to doing. She heard Karen sigh into the phone.

"Grace, I wanted to apologize to Jessie. I was way too hard on her the other night, and I shouldn't have forbade her to see Katie again. I realize now that I made a mistake, and I wanted to tell her I was sorry, and hope for her to be able to forgive me. I know things must be hard for them at school, then for it to be like that at home as well... no one should have to go through that because they love someone. No matter how unconventional it was." Now it was Grace's turn to sigh into the phone.

Crap. This isn't what she wanted Karen to say. Now she felt bad, and the fact that Jessie and Katie were already at the airport... not a good thing. She believed Karen. She believed that she was truly and sincerely apologetic, and that things could be worked out. But it may be too late.

"Listen, Karen, there is something I have to tell you, and it's not going to be easy to explain, and you're definitely not going to like what I have to say."

"Ok."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Katie asked as she slung her messenger bag over her shoulder. Jessie nodded her head.

"Yes, it is." She stated firmly. Katie stared intently at her for a moment before breathing a deep sigh and nodding her head.

"Ok." Katie reached for Jessie's hand and took it, before walking over to the ticket counter to give the woman their tickets.

"Thank you for flying American Airlines. You may now board." Both Jessie and Katie thanked the woman before getting on board, still holding each other's hand very tightly.

"COME ON! MOVE YOUR DAMN CAR!" Karen screamed at the vehicle in front of her which insisted on going 10 miles under the speed limit. She shook her head in frustration as she checked her mirrors for any possible way for her to pass the snail of a driver in front of her.

She glanced down at the digital clock in her car, silently praying that she'd have enough time to make it to the airport in time. The time was 8:47pm... their flight left in exactly 13 minutes. She looked back up and focused on the SUV ahead of her, and cursed when she saw him put on his brake lights. She maneuvered enough to see that in front of him that the traffic was backed up, and almost at a complete stop.

Karen was approximately 3 miles away from the airport, and any normal day, she would be able to make it, but today the traffic was jammed, and she could barely move.

She just prayed that she could make it there in time.

The girls found their seats on the plane and packed their backpacks in the overhead, Katie only hanging on to her precious messenger bag, which held her cd player, notebook, and pen. They sat, and held hands, both unusually quiet, just staring out the window.

"Are we doing the right thing?" Katie asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. She looked over at Jessie, who's eyes had clouded over. Jessie shook her head.

"It's the only thing we could do, Katie. You've seen how my mom has been over the last week and a half. It's been awful. I can't stand to live like that. I can't stand to live without you." Katie nodded.

"You're right, but..." she started, but Jessie put her fingers over Katie's mouth.

"No 'buts'. We're here, we're on a plane to Colorado, and nobody is going to stop us." She paused for a moment.

"I love you, you know that, right? I know I haven't said it in awhile, and I'm sorry. But I do." Katie touched her cheek.

"I know you do, and I love you too. You're right. Lets just forget about this all and enjoy the flight, shall we?" Jessie smiled at her, and leaned over for a kiss, but was interrupted by the voice of the captain coming over the loud speakers.

"Welcome to American Airlines flight 204 non-stop from Chicago to Denver. It's a beautiful day for flying, so you shouldn't expect much turbulence. We should arrive in Denver in approximately 2 hours. So please sit back, and enjoy your flight." The intercom clicked off, and Katie leaned her head back against the seat as she felt the plane begin to move.

Karen rushed up the escalators and frantically looked for any sign of the two girls. It was 9:01pm by her watch, but she prayed that the flight had been delayed for some reason. Grace said that the flight was at gate 21C, and as she searched for the signs, she saw that she was at 19C. Hope welled up inside of her, hope that there was still time.

She quickly located gate 21and turned the corner to find it almost empty, with a few people standing at the window waving goodbye as the plane backed out of it's gate. She rushed over to the ticket counter and got the attention of the lady working there.

"I need you to stop that flight." The woman looked up at her quizzically.

"I'm sorry, m'am, but we can't do that unless it's an emergency." Karen gripped the side of the counter, doing all she could to keep herself from lunging over and making that woman understand... but she didn't. She kept her cool.

"Yes, I know, but my daughter and her..." She cleared her throat. She had to say it, for the first time, "...girlfriend are on that flight, and... umm... neither of them have the permission of their parents." The woman looked at her with a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry. We can't do anything to stop the flight unless someone's life is in danger." The woman shrugged regretfully and returned to her task at hand.

Karen couldn't believe it. She was so close, yet so far. She walked over to the window and watched as the plane began to taxi down the runway before taking off. She put her hand on the window.

"Jessie, I'm sorry." She whispered. "I shouldn't have alienated you for the last couple of weeks. I should have been more open." She felt as tears welled up in her eyes. "I shouldn't have been so rejecting, or have refused to let you see Katie." Her hand on the window became a fist as she began to cry.

"But why did you have to leave?" She asked, rather angerly. "Why? Why didn't you try to work things out?" But as soon as she uttered those words, she knew she was wrong in even saying them. She did try to work things out, both she and Katie.

Karen's fist relaxed and she pressed her palm once more on the window.

"I'm sorry, Jessie, so very sorry." She leaned her forehead against the cool glass, and watched as her daughter's plane began it's final run down the runway, and as it pushed off into the air, Karen nodded.

"Goodbye, Jessie. I love you so much, my dear child." With that, she turned around and walked out of the airport.

Jessie gripped Katie tightly as the plane ascended into the air, and their fair city that she had grown up in, shrunk below her. She felt a knot inside of her stomach, for she had also been silently questioning whether or not they were doing the right thing, but altogether decided that they were.

But even if they weren't, it was too late to turn back. She continued to watch as the cars became smaller and smaller, till they were hardly visible... looking like ants crawling below them.

She leaned her head on Katie's shoulder, then a moment later felt her girlfriend lay her head on top of her own.

"Did I ever say thank you?" Jessie asked.

"What for?"

"For everything. For doing all this. For coming away with me. For loving me." Katie moved her head off of Jessie's and looked the other girl in the eye.

"You're welcome. I can't live without you, and if this is the only way to be with you, then so be it. I'm glad I'm with you." She leaned down and kissed her before resting their heads against the other's.

"Besides, I know that we'll be back. Someday. Somehow. We'll come back home."

"You think?" Jessie asked, hoping Katie was right.

"No. I know. And I also know that we are going to be ok." Jessie yawned and placed her head on Katie's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"I know that too." And with that, Jessie drifted off to sleep, knowing that from now on she would wake up to Katie next to her. Knowing that, nothing else really mattered.

Ok, so what did you think? Did they make the right decision a/b leaving? Or do you think they should've stayed? Maybe if I get enough request, I could write an alternate ending over my spring break (which isn't for another couple of weeks), an ending in which they stay. But if you want it, you'll have to send feedback!


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